Grapefruit Curd Ice Cream

This might just be my new favorite ice cream. I really love any type of curd- lemon, passionfruit, blood orange… you name it and you’ll probably find it on this site somewhere. Just after school when I was working my brief stint as a pastry chef, we made lemon curd ice cream one night. It was as decadent as it sounds- rich and tangy with that custard flavor you only get from a curd. Much better than a regular lemon ice cream. I’ve been wanting to make it again ever since. What I particularly love about this version is that the grapefruit offers a slight bitterness in the background; not something you often taste in ice cream or even a regular curd. But it works really well here and balances the sweetness.

Don’t use a processed store-bought grapefruit juice to make this. It won’t taste right. The only exception can be found in some higher end grocers like Whole Foods. If the container says something like “100% fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice” you’re probably ok. Double check the ingredient list to make sure there are no additives or anything from concentrate. Trust me, I learned this lesson the hard way. The safest bet will always be juicing the grapefruit yourself.

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Grapefruit Curd Ice Cream

Prep Time

20mins

Cook Time

25mins

Total Time

45mins

Course:
Dessert

Cuisine:
American

Servings: 61/2 cup servings

Author: Jennifer Farley

Ingredients

Grapefruit curd:

2large eggs

3large egg yolks

1cupgranulated sugar

3tablespoonscornstarch

1 1/4cupfresh squeezed grapefruit juice

4ounces8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed and at room temperature

optional: 1 drop each of pink and red food coloring

Curd ice cream:

1 1/2cupgrapefruit curd,chilled

1 1/3cuphalf & halfor 50% heavy cream + 50% whole milk, chilled

5tablespoonsconfectioners sugar

Instructions

To make the curd:

In a medium saucepan, whisk eggs, egg yolks and sugar together until smooth. Whisk the corn starch together with a bit of the grapefruit juice to create a slurry.

Whisk the grapefruit juice and slurry into the egg mixture.

Add the food coloring if using.

Continue to whisk over medium heat until thick, 10-15 minutes. It should be the consistency of pudding. Make sure the whisk hits the bottom of the pot to keep the bottom from burning. This is less likely to happen if you use a heavy bottom saucepan.

Remove from the heat and slowly whisk in pieces of the butter.

Move the curd to a bowl and allow to chill in the refrigerator. It will continue to thicken as it cools.

Store extra curd in the refrigerator with plastic wrap pushed directly against the curd to prevent a skin from forming.

To make the ice cream:

Whisk the curd and half and half together until well combined.

Sift in one tablespoon of confectioners sugar at a time while whisking.

I prefer to make this recipe over 2 days since the curd only takes 15 minutes to prepare but needs time to chill thoroughly. If you prepare the curd the night before, it will only take 25 minutes the next day to finish the ice cream.

There is a delicious recipe for Ruby Grapefruit Sorbet on the Williams-Sonoma website. There are also YouTube videos demonstrating how to remove the pulp. While this one sounds yummy and I can’t wait to try it, the sorbet might work for you.

OMG! I have been thinking about making curd for a while now and this has me even more excited about it! The most beautiful color of ice cream ever! PS: How did you get your Pinterest buttons on the pics? I love it!

I just bought an ice cream maker and need to break it in. I don’t really like grapefruit, as anything bitter turns me off, but that lemon curd ice cream sounds absolutely heavenly. I must try to make it.

Gorgeous photo! Ice cream is SO hard to photograph and you nailed it! I love anything curd too and I can totally imagine it making ice cream that much better. I can’t wait to try this next time I make curd!

Well, this one has a bit of a learning curve to it for me. I’m not at all familiar with curd! But I love the way you describe it. I’ll spend some time with the google boys and see what I can learn. I’m not afraid of a little research–especially if it leads me to a new ice cream flavor! It really does sound wonderful! Debra

About a year ago we discovered that grapefruit sorbet was most likely our very favorite. (I’ve since found another that competes.) But this ice-cream of yours…I can taste it…and I can adore it already from the image and your perfect description….and you can BET I’m going to be churning up a batch! Beautiful!

Your ice cream shot made me stare at it for some moments… simply gorgeous. I agree, the process juice won’t give nice color like this. I don’t know what color is this, but so beautiful! My mouth is watering since I started your photo, saving the recipe!!!

Sounds delicious! I recently made a grapefruit sorbet that was delicious! I actually have the recipe on my ice cream and sorbet blog! I would love to share it with you!http://nondairyicecream.blogspot.ca/

I saw this on the Fabulous Food Bloggers FB page, so I had to run over! I have an obsession with different types of curds (I’ve blogged strawberry, peach, and blood orange), so I can’t wait to make grapefruit and turn it into ice cream!

This is absolutely amazing. I made this tonight and I love it. It’s sweet but tangy making it a perfect dessert! I also tried the strawberry rhubarb and got rave reviews! Thanks for the awesome recipes!!!!!

Great question! I’ve been clarifying this on more recent recipes and will update it here as well. I didn’t realize originally that half & half was a US way of selling dairy. It’s 50% heavy cream + 50% whole milk.

I made this a few nights ago. I didn’t think the curd tasted grapefruit-y enough, so I made the mistake of adding a splash of campari…whew! Very bitter. I actually like the finished product, but it was not a hit at the family get-together. It’s definitely a grown-up ice cream.
Any suggestions on getting more grapefruit flavor in without increasing bitterness? Maybe juicing an additional grapefruit and boiling down the juice before making the curd? I don’t know how that would affect the flavor. Thanks!

Hmm, if it was very bitter I can see why it wasn’t a hit. Did you taste the grapefruit before using it in the curd? What type of grapefruit was it (ruby red, etc)? I’ve made that curd many many times, and it has always had a strong grapefruit flavor. All I can think of is that the grapefruit used might not have had a strong flavor. If that wasn’t the case, I’m genuinely stumped. You can always some additional grapefruit juice to the curd. Try stirring it in at the end, 1-2 teaspoons at a time, until the desired flavor is reached. I’ve never tried reducing grapefruit juice and am not sure if that would enhance the natural bitterness of the fruit.

Hi, I’m Jen

I’m a Maryland native living just outside of Washington DC. I graduated from culinary school in 2010 and have been cooking and baking professionally ever since. My goal at Savory Simple is to create everyday gourmet recipes that are easy to prepare at home. Thanks for visiting!

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